Push And Pull
by Krac
Summary: Just a pair of short character pieces that deal with the aftermath of 'Cajun Spice'
1. Irvine

No you're not hallucinating this is actually Krac adding something into the mix once more. I know, I know I should finish some of my many hanging stories but given my time away I thought I'd start back with a pair of short character studies. They were inspired quite a bit by three specific songs: Nikka Costa's 'Push and Pull' as well as Kelly Clarkson's (WHAT? I know...but these are the only two songs of hers I've ever liked.) Irvine/Chivas. Rogue's portion is represented by "Irvine" while Remy's is "Chivas". I'll try to have the companion piece up in the next couple days hopefully. Hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: As always I do not own X-Men Evolution or any of the goodness that surrounds it. Nor do I own the songs mentioned that inspired it. I've accepted this just stop rubbing it in Stan Lee.

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**Push and Pull-Irvine**

The darkness of the bathroom was broken by pools of candlelight spaced about the counter and side of the bathtub. Warm water lapped the edge of the porcelain with tiny white caps of foam gracing it's surface-the scent of vanilla filled the small room from both the candles and bubble bath. The scent wafted through the air, coming to caress the nostrils of the girl laying partially submerged in the tub soothing away some of her daily worries.

Only her face broke free of the bathwater, her hair fanned out around her head. The chestnut and white undulating softly with the tiny tides that surrounded her. Her face was stripped bare of its normal mask of cosmetics and even with her eyes closed there was a vulnerability that graced the strong features. Her chin stubbornly cleft, eyes tilted ever so slightly, the sprinkling of freckles that dusted her nose standing in stark relief on her milky skin.

Skin.

The bane of the girl's existence-a constant enemy without reason or rhyme. It defined her-burdened her-cut her off from the world and the people around her. Skin made her different even amongst her mutant companions. Something that seemed so harmless and incidental to others was a matter of life and death-sanity and insanity-for her. A never-ending battle to make sure that her mutant 'gift' didn't harm those around her-keeping herself cut off from physical contact with other living things.

Skin was what made Rogue a Rogue.

Learning to deal with her burdens was almost as much of a struggle for Rogue as her quest for control over her power. Since her arrival at Xavier's the program had been tailored to match both her schedule and her temperament. Meditation and martial arts as well as weekly therapy sessions that had started a few weeks previously after her return from New Orleans. The Professor was determined that Rogue wouldn't bottle things up any more for the good of her health-and to possibly prevent her from throwing anyone else over a cliff.

Below the surface of the water her bare hands clenched and unclenched at the thought of her adopted mother and the trouble Mystique had put her through over the years. Rogue wished that she could feel the anger she used to feel at the mention of the shapeshifter but now there was only an overwhelming emptiness. Things had finally reached a watershed for Rogue and the young woman couldn't summon up any emotion now. She would never admit it but meditating had helped-had in fact become the reason why every night before bed Rogue would soak in the tub.

When you have the voices of everyone you've ever touched ringing through your head day and night it can be hard to clear your thoughts. It had been a complete accident that Rogue had found the sensory deprivation provided by a barely lit bathroom and a tub full of water. If any one asked the gothic girl she would have happily hoisted the blame on her long time roommate Kitty Pryde's obsession with girly things.

The truth was though that Rogue thoroughly enjoyed these moments where she could let that all go and just be. No artifice or attitude getting in the way. Just her and the water caressing her skin in the way a lover would probably never do if things remained the way they were for Rogue. As far as she could remember there was only ever one other time she felt that free.

Of course that memory brought a different surge of emotions to the fore of her mind leaving even Rogue to wonder if they were really as angry as she wanted them to be. Loath though she was to admit it Rogue had enjoyed her time in New Orleans even though Re…Gambit hadn't been entirely up front with her about the reason he'd brought her there.

Brought.

A smile twisted her full pale lips at the very word-it sounded so polite-too polite to describe the fact that Gambit had drugged and kidnapped her in order to solicit her assistance. She had to hand it to him though-it had been a ballsy move-between her temper and Wolverine's daddy issues Gambit might have been better off facing the Rippers alone.

Despite the warmth of the water suspending her body Rogue shivered remembering vividly the feel of swamp water on her skin when they'd gone overboard. Lifting her leg out of the water Rogue pressed her bottom of her foot against the tiled backsplash. She had wanted to be angry at him for what he had done-hell she should have been royally pissed off. The only problem was that Rogue understood why he did it-and her parting words to Gambit in the bayou remained true to this day. He'd done the wrong thing for the right reasons.

Groaning Rogue lifted her upper body from the tub and pushed her streaming hair away from her face. Sliding back she pulled the plug and levered her body into a standing position to grab her towel that had been waiting on the toilet. With the gurgle of water running down the drain as accompaniment Rogue dried off her body and wrapped the towel around her hair turban style before sliding into the long, black terry cloth robe with a hood that Kurt had gotten her for her last birthday. Gathering her belongings Rogue tried to clear her thoughts of Gambit.

He confused her, challenged her, infuriated her and most damningly of all he understood her. They had bonded in their time together and while Rogue held no illusions that it meant anything to him that taste of normalcy had been an answer to Rogue's prayers. They may not have been friends or remotely close to being more than that despite the obvious attraction they held for each other but the trip had allowed Gambit to gain Rogue's respect. She wasn't likely to ever admit that she found him gorgeous but Rogue could handle him knowing that he was okay in her books.

Her mind flitted to the queen of hearts he'd given her that had found a home deep inside her sweater drawer. She'd kept it because Rogue was pretty sure that was Gambit's way of saying the same thing to her. Gathering up her belongings Rogue cracked the bathroom door and let the built up steam be vacuumed out by a comparatively cold blast of dry air. Silently and barefoot Rogue made her way to her room-it was empty with Kitty being out on a date with what ever flavour of the week was on tap. She didn't even bother turning on the light.

Setting her toiletries down on her vanity Rogue stalked across the room to her dresser and pulled out a black tank top and shorts that she would wear to bed. Her robe slid over her skin and pooled at her feet as she stepped into the shorts. Rogue stretched pulling tension from her spine before pulling the tank top over her head and smoothing the fabric down over her curves. Bending over Rogue scooped up her robe to hang it on the peg she'd put up in her closet when a flash of white caught her eye.

There leaning against the forest green of her pillows and duvet was a playing card-the queen of hearts. A lump rose in Rogue's throat as she spun around searching the shadows of her room for any sign of an intruder. A bubble of near hysterical laughter exploded from her mouth directed at herself more than anyone else. The card told her exactly who it was that had been in her room and Gambit was too good a thief to leave a trail that she'd be able to find.

Picking up the card in her empty hand Rogue moved towards the French doors that led from the room to the balcony outside. Moonlight reflected off her pale flesh so stark in contrast to the clothes she had just put on as she started out into the night wondering where Gambit was hiding. He'd watched her for months before abducting her and the card only served as his way of letting her know that he was on the job again.

Unbidden a portion of a Kelly Clarkson song ran through Rogue's mind-it was a song that Kitty had played over and over again when she thought about Lance. As far as pop songs went it wasn't that bad-but Rogue would never say that out loud. Humming the words under her breath Rogue placed her hand on the glass briefly and offered a small smile before pulling the curtains closed, "Are you there…Are you watching me…"

She trailed off the melody keeping the tune in her mind-it was a song Rogue had identified with to her own surprise and now with a second queen of hearts in hand the impact was all the more jarring. Pulling her covers back Rogue slid into bed and set the card under her pillow before grabbing her ipod and hooking the headphones into her ears. Against her better judgement Rogue skipped to the song-'Irvine' and let the haunting refrains lull her into sleep with the card clutched in her hand.


	2. Chivas

Woohoo...Finally finished the second half of this so that I could go into the office to do some work. Joy!

Ishy: It has been far too long since you've said that to me...I wish I had a better reason for the lack of presence around here other than just plain old life. I'm glad you enjoyed Rogue's half of things and hope you enjoy this one...it's decidedly happy for me.

So with no further ado...here's Remy's P.O.V

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**Chivas**

"You're not worth it babe…the trouble you bring-the noise you keep…and you don't even care…"

Some bars could afford fancy sound systems and DJ's to keep the right music going-the types of bars that the young man usually found himself in were not those types of bars. Dirty, dark and with the bare minimum of service those other bars served one purpose only-for its patrons to steadily block out the world that had driven them to drink. It was not the type of bar one would expect to hear an acoustic Kelly Clarkson song.

However the lone female server 'Ginny' had forbidden anyone from changing the radio station that was finally playing her request on pain of expulsion. That was a risk no one in the bar was willing to take. For the young man sitting in the booth-shades firmly affixed to his face despite the late hour-the song only seemed to amplify the reason that he was sitting with his fourth bourbon in less than an hour. Strange as it seemed he could identify with the core of the song.

Sometimes it's better to ignore love and stick to booze-in the end the alcohol would hurt you far less. That axiom was never more true in the life of Remy Lebeau as he attempted to drown his misery in the only bar in Bayville he knew he wouldn't run into Wolverine in. HE wasn't depressed enough to be suicidal-yet.

Ladies man, King of hearts, smooth operator-the titles swam through Remy's mind mocking him as they passed. Once all of these were true, without concern Remy would love and leave his pretty _filles_ preferring to keep himself aloof. He'd learned all to quickly the problems that arise when you actually care about someone-in the right hands love could be a weapon. Remy had had that warhead pointed his way one too many times by Jean-Luc his manipulative adopted father to want anyone else to have the same pull over him. Taking the job with Magneto was supposed ot have helped Remy escape those sorts of influences.

What a joke that was.

Things had started out normal enough; settling in with Colossus and Pyro-avoiding Quicksilver and Sabertooth. They'd all been given dossiers on every X-Man to study and commit to memory-that had been the beginning of Remy's downfall. The picture had been taken from a distance using a large lens to keep the subject from knowing which meant that it was truly a candid moment in the girl's life. She sat below a large tree with book in hand but her eyes weren't on the page-they had drifted off to the right were a young couple could be seen laughing and holding hands.

The unadulterated pain and envy that painted her face was fully on display for the camera-leaving an unpleasant taste in Remy's mouth on her behalf. That such a private moment of torment had been caught by a surveillance camera seemed nearly pornographic. He had read her file a little more eagerly than the ones that had come before it then reread it to make sure that his eyes weren't playing tricks on him.

Suddenly the reason for the look on the girl's face became abundantly clear to Remy even though Magneto's file was dry and scientific-she could not touch another living being. That one word 'uncontrollable' tacked beside the listing of her powers and abilities pulled at the part of Remy that had spent months unable to touch anything when his powers had first manifested.

It had been easy from there in to watch her covertly when Magneto ordered him to watch the X-Men. Keeping his distance Remy couldn't help himself from having his attention pulled to her even when the more traditionally beautiful X-Women surrounded her. Curious to the extreme the thief in Remy wanted to understand this girl that could steal everything from you with just a touch. He told himself over and over that it was a professional thing-that knowing his enemy was a part of his job.

Then he'd finally met her face to face amongst the crates while the rest of their colleagues fought each other. Remy had been done for the moment he saw that look of steeling determination set on her face as she had come around the corner of those crates with one hand bared and ready to fight. He had charmed her and given her the King of hearts because in truth Remy hadn't known what else to do. She threw him completely off balance and Remy didn't want to admit to her that he had been stalking her for months. It seemed a little too pathetic.

Of course that little taste hadn't satisfied Remy so he had continued to watch her afterwards and even arranged a few little meetings whenever he could. The way her eyes would blaze out of her face when she would talk to him-the sweet southern tint that coloured her often harsh words. It had been months before Remy had realized that he was completely smitten by her. Learning more about the mystery that was Rogue didn't help-each new fact just strengthened the feelings Remy had for her-making him wish that she could see just how similar they really were.

He had watched from atop a building as she had sobbed into Wolverine's arms after having nearly levelled the city during her power surge. Guilt had kept Remy from moving from his perch or trying to help-he'd known for the longest time who Risty truly was and hadn't been able to say anything about it. Not that Rogue would have believed him anyway. The part of Remy that was tired of being used by his own father cried along with her.

That was when he had tried to stop. Remy hated that he was stealing these personal moments from her by witnessing them without permission. Pyro had put it best when he had referred to Remy as a stalker-not even Colossus had disagreed. It had been a surprise then only weeks later when Rogue had appeared at the Acolytes base and had begun to absorb all of them. It had taken all of Remy's skill to hold Rogue off as long as he had so she took the path of least resistance.

Under Mesmero's control or not-Rogue had kissed him.

Kissed him…and no one else.

That kiss was the reason he had put up with the bickering of Wolverine and Sabertooth in order to find her in Nepal. Even though he had been the one to save the girl she still went home in Wolverine's arms unaware of the role he had played just for her. Remy hadn't known whether to be ashamed or grateful for that. Of course his resolution to stop watching Rogue had crumble and he had been there lurking in the shadows when she'd pushed the statue of Mystique over the cliff.

One didn't need to be an empath to see the range and pain that had led her action though apparently her fellow X-Men-especially her 'brother' didn't notice it. That was probably the biggest problem she had and from his vantage point it was always crystal clear to Remy-she didn't just hold contact from her friends-she held everything back from them. Her mask would not let them see just how negatively Mystique had affected her until that final moment. He'd seen it though and had understood completely-if someone had offered the same chance Remy was pretty sure he would have pushed Jean-Luc as well.

Try as she might though Rogue hadn't recovered from it and the reactions her friends and family had about the incident. They couldn't understand because they hadn't been used and abused for gain by someone who was supposed to be a parent. Remy could though and it hurt him to see her fire dulled by shame and guilt. In truth it would have been smarter to take Jean Grey in order to get Jean-Luc back from the Rippers. She was by far more empathic and more likely to actually help him in his goal but Remy couldn't bring himself to do it. Rogue could do the same in her own way and she needed the opportunity to get away from things if only for a few days.

Again though Remy had been left unsure about how he should approach her-he didn't want to make her living situation worse. That's why he'd decided to kidnap her-that way she would at least avoid others saying that she had willingly joined an enemy on an illegal adventure. Sure, it also meant that she couldn't say no to his idea but that was just a side benefit to Remy. Though there was a moment when he thought he may have misjudged her and that she was going to throw him from the train.

In that all too brief time where it was just the two of them she had seemed more alive than she had in months and Remy kept putting off telling her exactly why he'd brought her along. No moment had seemed right and then they had been attacked by Julian and it was too late to put the cat back in the bag by the end of things. None of that mattered though because despite his lies of omission she had still come back to help him. Never before in his life had Remy been so shocked by another person-he'd thought he knew her inside and out from his years of watching.

Remy was wrong and he couldn't have been happier about it.

Her words as she had left and re-joined the X-men had haunted Remy over and over and the surveillance photo he'd kept had become creased and battered with handling. He'd tried everything he could think of to try and forget about Rogue but it hadn't worked. The wine wasn't as sweet, the song not as tuneful and the other women nowhere near as beautiful. It reminded him over and over of what he didn't have. New Orleans wasn't the welcoming mother that she had once been to Remy Lebeau and that was why he left and headed northwards again.

His mind a whirl Remy had decided he was going to try and do things right this time with her-that was the reason he had left the card in plain sight when he'd broken into her room. A little token of his esteem and a warning that he was watching her. Of course he knew now that she hadn't seen it immediately and that was the reason why he was sitting in a dive bar trying to drink himself to oblivion. He'd felt dirty as he watched her tonight but still couldn't force himself to look away from the sight of her skin in the moonlight.

The image of her standing there naked and perfect was seared into his consciousness-it had been a private moment not intended for others to see. That hadn't stopped Remy from watching spell bound as she dressed slowly stretching her body and loosening the joints as she went. Even hundreds of feet away Remy thought that she could hear the hammering of his heart of course that was nothing compared to the way it nearly strangled him when she returned to the window card in hand.

She'd smiled and pressed her hand to the glass-telling that she knew that he was there-she knew what he had seen. Shocked Remy had searched her face for any sign of anger but couldn't find any before she had pulled her curtains closed and hidden herself from him again. That was what had really led him to the bar and the wet comfort of bourbon's embrace. He'd always told himself that she didn't care about him…that he was nothing but a pain in the ass that she happened to find attractive. This intimate glimpse was beyond anything he'd had of her before-he'd always been careful never to overstep his bounds in regard to her privacy.

If they kept things up then their relationship would go beyond the careful boundaries they'd both set so far. Being the more experienced of the pair of them Remy knew what it would open them up to and the consequences they'd face. He could see even now that they would cut each other up only to pull things back together piece by piece. They could eventually love each other but it would never be easy-it wasn't just her mutation that would cause problems. Rather it would be their basic personalities that would clash and war with each other only to make up again.

Draining the drink in front of him Remy tried to decide if it would be worth it. He could turn around and go back to New Orleans and try to forget her again…it was the smart thing to do. That didn't mean that was what Remy was going to do though as he waved for another drink. He couldn't lie to himself any more and despite the pain that he was suffer by staying it couldn't be worse than trying to live without her again.

That didn't stop him from wishing he could follow the advice of the singer to 'take the Chivas instead."


End file.
